Clarissa Stryder
by dianaemrys15
Summary: Clarissa Stryder survived the invasion and is now on the run with her boyfriend Jason and their daughter Aaliyah. When they decide to head to the desert to find her father, Jebediah's house they thought it would be easy. They were wrong. When they are found along with a soul in Melanie's body danger occurs. Will she survive and if she does will she remain human or become a soul?
1. Character Page

**A/N I do not own the Host. Stephanie Meyer owns it. This will mostly follow the book but will have some aspects from the movie. This will be told from my OC's point of view so the first couple of chapters will be different. This will be a OC/OC pairing and the rest will be canon couples.**

Name: Clarissa Jezebel Ivana Stryder

Personality: Caring, Loving, Bubbly, Intelligent, Open-minded, Protective, Can be Blunt, Compassionate, Truthful, Brave, Strong, and Trusting.

Appearance: Long Dark Brown Hair, Chocolate Brown Eyes, Creamy Olive skin, curves in all the right places, heart shaped face, white teeth, nice smile, High Cheekbones, Size C breasts, 5 ft 6 in. Slim.

Portrayed By: Nina Dobrev

Species: Human

Age: 23

Birthday: April 15th, 1990

Cultural Background: Bulgarian (Mother's Side), Greek (Mother's Side), American (Father's Side)

Family: Anastasiya Stryder nee Dobreva (Mother, Deceased), Alexsandar Dobrev (Grandfather, Deceased), Cassandra Dobreva nee Athans (Grandmother, Deceased), Jebediah Stryder (Father, Alive), Magnolia Stryder (Aunt, Alive), Sharon Stryder (Cousin, Alive), Trev Stryder (Uncle, Soul), Linda Stryder nee Williams (Aunt, Soul), Guy Stryder (Uncle, Deceased), Melanie Stryder (Cousin, Soul), Jamie (Cousin, Alive), Aaliyah Anabelle Stryder-Howe (Daughter, Alive).

Friends/Relationships: Iris Bennett nee Wilson (Best friend, Deceased), Ian O'Shea (Friend, Alive), Doc (Friend, Alive), Jared Howe (Friend, Alive), Wanderer (Eventual Best Friend, Soul), Jason Howe (Boyfriend, Alive)

Alias: Iris, Sapphire, Icicles roaring in sunlight, Iridescent whispers swaying in the moonlight, Ember, Burning Coal, Blaze, Flaming air, Crystal Ice, Harness Light, Melody

Nicknames: Clary, Lissa, Rissa, isa, Clare, Clare-bear, Clarice, issy, Jezebel, Jeze, Belle, jaz, Ivana, Iv, ana, Rissy, Stryder, Babe, Baby, little girl, sweetheart, love, lover, daughter, momma, mommy.

Name: Jason Asher Howe

Personality: Strong, Brave, Protective, Caring, Has a temper, Intelligent, Courageous, can be Impulsive, Dependable, Honest, Loyal, Confident, Honorable

Appearance: Short Brown Hair, Honey Coloured eyes, Tanned Skin, Muscular body, 6 ft 1 in, white teeth, nice smile, hard rock abs

Portrayed By: Max Irons

Species: Human

Age: 26

Birthday: February 18th, 1987

Cultural Background: American

Family: Jared Howe (Twin Brother, Alive), Liam Howe (Brother, Soul), Everett Howe (Brother, Soul), Jayden Howe (Brother, Soul), Braden Howe (Brother, Soul), Cameron Howe (Brother, Soul), Jeremy Howe (Brother, Soul), Grayson Howe (Father, Soul), Isabelle Howe nee Anderson (Mother, Deceased), Aaliyah Anabelle Stryder-Howe (Daughter, Alive).

Friends/Relationships: James Bennett (Best Friend, Deceased), Ian O'Shea (Best Friend, Alive), Doc (Friend, Alive), Melanie Stryder (Eventual Friend, Soul), Jamie Stryder (Friend, Alive), Wanderer (Friend, Soul)

Alias: James, Icebound, Blazing Flame, Ice Shards in the wind, Ash, Range, Glass Spires, Sam, Gavin, John, William, Michael

Nicknames: Jace, Ace, Bro, Babe, Baby, Lover, Boyfriend, Howe, Howe 2, Twin Howe, Daddy, Handsome, Lover

Name: Aaliyah Anabelle Stryder-Howe

Appearance: Brown Hair, Chubby Cheeks, plump lips, Chocolate Brown eyes, Creamy lightly tanned Skin, Button Nose, Dimples.

Species: Human

Age: 7 months

Birthday: October 18th, 2012

Cultural Background: Bulgarian (Mother's Side), Greek (Mother's Side), American (Father and Mother's Side)

Family: Clarissa Stryder (Mother, Alive), Jason Howe (Father, Alive)

Nicknames: Allie, Leah, Belle, Ana, Angel, Baby, Baby Girl, Allie-Bear, Sweetie


	2. Prologue

**A/N I do not own the Host. Stephanie Meyer owns it. This will mostly follow the book but will have some aspects from the movie. This will be told from my OC's point of view so the first couple of chapters will be different. This will be a OC/OC pairing and the rest will be canon couples. Jared and Jason will be a few years younger and Melanie will be also. Jared will be 26 and Melanie will be 18.**

Clarissa P.O.V

_Prologue_

I had to make it there. Not just for myself but for Jason and Aaliyah as well. I want my daughter to be safe. I won't let them take her. I should've known that it would be hard to find the place. With daddy the way he is, I should have expected it. This can't last much longer. I won't risk my baby, even though I desperately want to find this place. It will be safe. I want to stop running from them, the aliens.

We have spent the whole day in the desert searching for this place but no luck. I hope they see us and find us. We will not last much longer in this heat. Aaliyah especially won't last. She's only 7 months old. I'm just luck I got that carrier that covers her. We only have enough food and water to last us one more day. I hope they find us soon or else we will have to keep running.

I looked over at Jason. He looked so handsome. I lay beside him with Aaliyah's carrier between us. "I love you" I whispered. "I love you to, Rissa" he said looking at me with his gorgeous honey coloured eyes. "Night" "Night. I slowly tried to get comfortable in the sand. I shifted and finally drifted off to sleep under the blistering night sky.


	3. Chapter 1

**A/N I do not own the Host. Stephanie Meyer owns it. This will mostly follow the book but will have some aspects from the movie. This will be told from my OC's point of view so the first couple of chapters will be different. This will be an OC/OC pairing and the rest will be canon couples. Jared and Jason will be a few years younger and Melanie will be also. Jared will be 26 and Melanie will be 18.**

_Chapter 1: Discovered_

Clarissa P.O.V

I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I took a few deep breaths, the nightmare fading out of my mind. Then I heard it ... footsteps. They were nearing us. I quickly shook Jason. "Mmmm, five more minutes" "Wake up!" I whispered urgently. "I hear footsteps" Jason woke up immediately and grabbed his gun. I stood in front of Aaliyah just in case it was the souls. I hope it's my Dad or other humans. I haven't seen any other human besides Jason in Aaliyah since Iris and James sacrificed themselves so we could get away.

We waited in silence for a few minutes. I could hear the footsteps coming closer. I braced myself for what was to come. I saw a muscular blonde boy come into view. He came closer. "There's two more over here" he hollered. Jason was poised in a fighting position. He came close. I saw his eyes. He was human. Jason lowered the weapon. "You're human" I breathed out in relief. He looked at me. "You are too" he said back. "I'm sorry, it's just we haven't seen another human in over a year." "It's okay, I'm Ian O'Shea" he said holding out his hand. I stepped forward and shook it. "I'm Clarissa Stryder" I said smiling. "Any relation to Maggie or Jeb Stryder?" he asked. "You know my father and aunt?" I asked curiously. "Jeb's your father? Well it seems you came to the right place. He owns the place we all live at." "You mean there are more humans." "More than you thought possible." he said.

A cough brought my attention to Jason. "Sorry, this is—"I began. "Jared? I thought you stayed back with Jamie? What are you doing here?" "I'm Jason," he said, "You must mean my twin brother. I thought he was a soul. Thank god he made it." "Yeah, thank god" Ian muttered. "Well we should go catch up with the others ... unless there are more of you" he said looking at us. "It's our daughter. She's in the stroller. She's only 7 months old. That's okay, right?" "Is she human?" he asked. I nodded my head frantically. "Than it should be fine. The more the merrier" he said. "Well grab your stuff and follow me." He said.

We quickly grabbed our bags and I checked inside the stroller. Aaliyah was looking at me with her doe eyes. "Shhh" I whispered, "be a good girl. I'll feed you soon." I zipped up the stroller and we followed behind Ian. Up ahead I saw a group of people. We were a few feet away when they noticed Ian had brought with him two people and a stroller. I could tell they were about to turn on Ian when he called out "It's okay, they're human." They relaxed but tensed up again when they looked at the figure in front of them.

We were about a foot away now. I saw their faces more closely now. The only faces I recognized were my Aunt Maggie and ... my Father. "Watch Aaliyah," I whispered to Jason. "Daddy" I yelled and ran forward. He turned and I saw his eyes light up. I barreled into him and he hugged me close. "I thought you were dead" he said to me. I clutched at him "No, just running." He finally released me from the hug and nudged me towards Aunt Maggie. "Aunt Maggie" I cried out. She hugged me close and looked at the figure on the floor.

I turned and saw. Melanie, my cousin. Only she was not my cousin anymore. She was one of them, a soul. I recoiled in disgust. "Hold it, Kyle" said Dad to a blonde who looked related to Ian. "Why? You said you made sure. It's one of them." He said. "Well, yes, she surely is. But it's a little complicated" Dad responded. "How?" questioned Ian. "See, this here is my niece, too." Dad answered. "Not anymore she's not" Kyle said flatly as he stepped forward with a machete in hand.

"Dad, they are right. That is not Mel anymore. That is not my cousin" I said with teary eyes. "I said hold it, Kyle." Dad said pointing the rifle at Kyle's back and ignoring me. Kyle froze. "Jeb," Ian said, horrified, "what are you doing?" "Step away from the girl, Kyle." Dad said again. Kyle turned back around to face us, whirling on Jeb in fury. "It's not a girl, Jeb!"

Dad shrugged; the gun stayed steady in his hands, pointed at Kyle. "There are things to be discussed." "The doctor might be able to learn something from it," Aunt Maggie offered gruffly from beside me. "Aunt Maggie? You're here? How? Is Sharon -" The words gushed from the soul's mouth. I stepped back. How dare that parasite act like she is Melanie. She is nothing. She's an imposter, an outsider. Aunt Maggie cut it off and slapped it round the face. I winced. It still looked like Melanie.

"You won't fool us, you parasite. We know how you work. We know how well you can mimic us." "Now, Maggie," Dad began in a soothing tone. "Don't you 'Now, Maggie' me, you old fool! She's probably led a legion of them down on us." She backed away from it, her eyes measuring its stillness as if it were a coiled snake. She stopped beside Dad. While they were talking I went and fed Aaliyah. I would tell Dad after. Now was not the time.

"I don't see anyone," Dad retorted. "Hey!" he yelled, and I flinched in surprise. Dad waved his left hand over his head, the gun still clenched in the right. "Over here!" I braced myself for crying. Luckily Aaliyah was too busy drinking her bottle. She finished it quickly and I took it from her and gave her a soother before anyone but Jason noticed.

"Shut up," Aunt Maggie growled, shoving his chest. "She's alone, Mag. She was pretty much dead when I found her-she's not in such great shape now. The centipedes don't sacrifice their own that way. They would have come for her much sooner than I did. Whatever else she is, she's alone."

It looked at me and then at Jason. "Jared" it said. Everyone froze and looked at Jason and then took another look. They saw Jared's mirror image. "I'm Jason, Jared is my twin brother" he said holding back a sneer. Dad nodded as did the rest. Dad was walking toward it, and the others were close behind. Kyle's hand hovered at Dad's shoulder. Dad put his gun in his left hand and extended the right to it. It eyed it warily. "C'mon," he urged gently. "If I could carry you that far, I woulda brought you home last night. You're gonna have to walk some more." "No!" Kyle grunted. "I'm takin' her back," Dad said, and for the first time there was a harsher tone to his voice. Under his beard, his jaw flexed into a stubborn line.

"Jeb!" Maggie protested."'S my place, Mag. I'll do what I want." "Dad" I groaned. He shot me a look. "Fine" I relented. He smiled at me softly. "Old fool!" Aunt Maggie snapped again. Dad yanked her up. There was a hiss of disapproval from the others. "Okay, whoever you are," he said to her. "Let's get out of here before it heats up." Ian put a hand on Dad's arm."You can't just show it where we live, Jeb."

"I suppose it doesn't matter," Aunt Maggie said harshly. "It won't get a chance to tell tales." Dad sighed and pulled a bandanna-all but hidden by his beard-from around his neck."This is silly," he muttered, but he rolled the dirty fabric, into a blindfold. It was still as Dad blindfolded her. I said nothing. I knew when Dad set his mind to something, nothing could stop him. We all started walking. I had the stroller again. The ground was even beneath my feet. We had been walking for hours. When we stopped for a break I had fed Aaliyah so she was sleeping at the moment.

"You aren't planning to tell him, are you?" Aunt Maggie said from behind me."He's got a right to know," Dad replied stubbornly. "It's an unkind thing you are doing, Jebediah." "Life is unkind, Magnolia." I wonder who their talking about. Jamie? Maybe. We walked in silence again for a few hours. The Soul's leg buckled. "Let me know when you're ready," Dad told her. During this time I took a sip of water as well as Jason. Aaliyah was still snoozing away. Someone sighed impatiently.

"Why are you doing this, Jeb?" Ian asked. "For Doc? You could have just told Kyle that. You didn't have to pull a gun on him." "Kyle needs a gun pulled on him more often," Dad muttered. "Please tell me this wasn't about sympathy," Ian continued. "After all you've seen..." "After all I've seen, if I hadn't learned compassion, I wouldn't be worth much. But no, it was not about sympathy. If I had enough sympathy for this poor creature, I would have let her die."

"What, then?" Ian demanded. There was a long silence, and then Dad helped her up again. We continued along. "Curiosity," Dad answered. We walked for hours until we reached a new terrain. "Careful, now," Dad warned. "Watch your head." I bent forward and walked through. Jason was behind me with his hands on my hips. Our footsteps make an echoing sound. The ground didn't give like sand, didn't feel loose like rock. It was flat and solid beneath my feet. The sun was gone. Aaliyah would be waking up soon. I hope we get there soon so I can break the news gently.

A breeze hit me. The dry desert wind was gone. This air was still and cooler. There was the faintest hint of moisture to it, a mustiness that I could both smell and taste. "This way," Dad said. Our footsteps echoed back from close by-the space we were in must have been quite small. I'm just lucky the stroller fit.

We went a few steps farther, and then we rounded a sharp curve that seemed to turn us back the way we'd come. The ground started to slant downward. The angle got steeper with every step. We took another turn, and then the floor started to climb upward. The air got mustier and moister the farther we went, but the blackness didn't change. The only sounds were our footsteps and their nearby echoes. The pathway flattened out and began to turn and twist like a serpent. Finally, finally, there was brightness. I saw tons of humans. There were so many. There was a low murmuring babble. An argument I realized. There were so many people arguing.

There were rough, uneven walls; a pocked ceiling; a worn, dusty floor. We were underground somewhere in a natural cave formation. The rock walls and ceiling were a dark purpley brown, and they were riddled with shallow holes like Swiss cheese. The edges of the lower holes were worn down, but over my head the circles were more defined, and their rims looked sharp. The light came from a round hole ahead of us, its shape not unlike the holes that peppered the cavern, but larger. This was an entrance, a doorway to a brighter place. I went into the tunnel after Dad. Aaliyah was still asleep.

The tunnel opened into a chamber. The ceiling was too bright and too high-it was like an artificial sky. As soon as the soul entered everything went silent. There was a crowd. There was no other word for it-there was a crowd of humans standing stock-still and silent, all staring at the soul with the same burning, hate-filled expressions.

One man stepped forward from the crowd, and my eyes darted first to his eyes, looking at what defines him as human. His eyes contained hate but underneath that there was also sadness. It was like looking at another Jason. This must be Jared. They would have their reunion later. Right now he was focused on the soul. I took a deep breath as they debated her fate.


End file.
